Mujadara

This humble dish, made with a few inexpensive ingredients, has been filling bellies for hundreds of years! It's a simple vegetarian classic, packed with protein, fiber, and flavour. Serve it as a hearty side or a complete meal.

• 2 tablespoons cooking oil
  
  
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
  
  
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
  
  
• 3/4 cup green, black, or brown lentils
  
  
• 3 cups vegetable broth
  
  
• 1/2 cup white rice
  
  
• 1 yellow onion
  
  
• Pinch salt and pepper

1. Heat one tablespoon of the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add cumin and cinnamon, and cook, stirring continuously, until fragrant (around 1 minute).
   
   
2. Add lentils and vegetable broth to the pot and bring to a boil. Cover and reduce heat to medium low, and simmer for 15 minutes, until lentils are beginning to soften.
   
   
3. Add rice to the pot and stir. Cover again and simmer until the rice and lentils are fully cooked, another 15-20 minutes.
   
   
4. While the rice and lentils are cooking, thinly slice the onion. Heat the remaining tablespoon of oil in a medium pan over medium heat. Add the onion, salt, and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onion has started to brown and go crisp around the edges, around 15 minutes.
   
   
5. Serve rice and lentils warm, topped with fried onion.

• There are many different ways to cook this recipe. If you find that the rice or lentils get mushy, you can try cooking them seperately instead of in one pot. You can also try rinsing the rice in cold water, and soaking it as the lentils parcook in the pot. This will speed up the cooking time, and help the rice to cook evenly along with the lentils.
  
  
• Green, brown, or black lentils are all good for Mujadara, but don't use red! They will cook too quickly and turn into mush.

• Mujadara can be made with bulgur wheat instead of rice, or brown rice instead of white. Just adjust the cooking times to be a little longer for either grain.
  
  
• Try serving with a dollop of Greek yogurt, or a fried egg on top.

• Mujadara will keep 4-5 days in an airtight container in the fridge.
  
  
• To freeze, cool completely and divide into single-portion sizes in air tight freezer safe containers or bags. Keep in freezer for up to 3 months.

Recipe adapted from the Food Bank of the Rockies

Food is Too Expensive! was funded by the City of Saskatoon through our Healthy Yards partnership, the Cyril Capling Trust Fund of the College of Agriculture and Bioresources, and the Department of Plant Sciences. Focus group research to inform this work was collected by CHEP. Thank you all for helping us make healthy food more accessible!